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participation in class, teacher-centred. 
Introduction 
In the past, learning was mainly teacher-centred, and student were, in most cases, a passive
audience of their teacher with little negotiation of the input or disagreement over it. Despite
the fact that English language teachers have used different methods in teaching in the last few 
decades, speaking, as one of the four skills, remains difficult to handle. Moreover, students‘ lan
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guage learning behaviour tends to have a considerable impact on teachers‘ teaching practices. 
Therefore, teaching speaking as a major component of the oral skill ought to resort to more so-
phisticated approaches and methods. Social constructivism, which is a student-centred approach,
is more and more acknowledged by researchers as a potentially successful path to teaching speak-
ing and overcoming most of what hinders a fluent and confident speech production by students. 
What is Constructivism? 
Constructivism is a theory of learning which has influenced the field of education, and 
particularly educational psychology. Many psychologists contributed to the shaping of this theory
such as Jean Piaget(1960), Lev Vygotsky(1978)and Jerome Bruner(1996). Constructivism empha-
sizes a student-centred pedagogy in which the learner constructs his own knowledge and the teacher 
acts as a guide or a facilitator of the learning process. Li Jin, for instance, states that constructivism 
is an active process of learning which tends to shift the focus from the teacher to the students. This 
shift in attitude makes the student the centre of the learning process in order to ultimately construct 
meanings and understandings of various concepts based on their prior knowledge and experiences . 
Accordingly, Robert Slavin firmly believes that the core concept of the constructivist theory is that
learners must independently construct knowledge. To Slavin, a self-constructed knowledge can be 
achieved by providing students with opportunities to discover, learn and apply new information and 
ideas themselves. In other words, the classroom is no longer a place where the teacher pours knowl-
edge into passive students who unquestioningly accept it; rather they are actively engaged in their 
own process of learning.
Social Constructivism 
Social constructivism is an outgrowth of Vygotsky‘s ideas and theories acknowledging 
the use of social interactions and environment in the learning process. Douglas Brown states

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that the social constructivist theories focus on language communication between individuals.
He further explains that this method of learning is highly associated with learners interaction 
with their peers, teachers and others in society . According to Vygotsky, learning is a social 
negotiation of concepts and meanings using language in order to help others and solve problems
(98). Vygotsky postulated that the concepts of development and learning of the individuals
could not be understood without reference to the social and cultural context in which
these concepts are embedded‖(63).
The essence of social constructivism is the use of cooperative learning, project based learning 
and discovery practices. From a constructivist view, these practices emphasize the social nature of 
learning which enables most students to contribute and exchange ideas (Slavin 258). In cooperative 
groups, learners can hear the more skillful peers‘ inner voice out aloud when they try to solve
problems; this increases their understandability more than when working individually (Slavin
258). Along with this idea, Vygotsky claims that learning occurs through dialogues between stu-
dents or between teacher and students (98).
Mediated learning or scaffolding is another key principle of Vygotsky‘s theories of learning
whereby he stresses the importance of giving learners complex tasks that take place in real life to be 
solved with some assistance. This assistance is usually provided by teachers, peers or parents. 
In brief, Vygotsky‘s view of social constructivism places emphasis on cultural and social con-
text for cognitive growth. As Vygotsky firmly believes, social interaction plays a crucial role
in cognition development at an awareness and knowledge building level. 
3. Students’ Psychological Problems
Learning English speaking and communicative skills, despite its great 
importance nowadays, remains out of reach for many students because of
some psychological problems like anxiety and lack of confidence. 
Anxiety
Shu-Feng Tseng states that anxiety may have a negative effect on students‘ performance 
when speaking in the target language(76). She claims that this is related to one being afraid of failure 
or being negatively evaluated in front of others (76). Many students are reluctant to communicate
for these reasons in addition to their linguistic deficiencies such as lack of vocabulary. Tseng 
thinks that oral presentations and a very formal atmosphere in the classroom are the main causes of 
learners‘ feeling of anxiety and nervousness(80). She adds that another key anxiety-provoking factor 
is the fear of committing mistakes in front of others(80). These are some of the reasons why students 
tend to keep silent or seldom contribute in the classroom. Generally, students who have speech
anxiety are quiet and passive and thus get less attention from their teachers. These students give up 
very often at the early stages and continue to be calm during the rest of their learning years.
Lack of Confidence
Lack of confidence is a psychological issue that is considered as one of the greatest obstacles 
which negatively affects students‘ oral performance. This factor complicates the learning of a foreign 
language and hampers students from speaking fluently. Thus, it is broadly believed that students with 
high self-esteem can achieve much better and speak increasingly well compared to those afraid of 
losing face in public. Many students even with highly developed skills, especially writing, cannot 
express their thoughts verbally. They usually avoid any kind of talking in classroom. This can lead
to a misunderstanding from some teachers who, for them, the best students are only those who attract 
more attention through participation. The writing skill, for example, has always been at the forefront 
because students always have a chance to update and edit what is written. Verbally, thoughts 

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should be expressed on the spot, which means students are unable to prepare and organise their ideas
in advance. All these factors lead to more anxiety and nervousness and hence make the speaking 
skill the most stressful one to be learnt and performed. Anxiety can be considered as the major cause 
of their failure in verbal interactions. In this situation, learners, when feeling more and more anxious, 
are overwhelmed by panic, and hence achieve very poorly when speaking in public. Low confident 
students tend to feel insecure when speaking because of their negative self-perception. Consequently, 
they become more doubtful about their own capacities which influences deeply their oral performance.
Group Work 
Most students feel a lot of pressure when they are supposed to initiate conversa-
tions, giving speeches or making presentations about specific topics. Group work is an ideal
strategy to shift students‘ attention from the others‘ negative feedback to the actual use 
of language. It enables students to share information and considerably decrease the level of
anxiety (Shi 65). They may get more excited to present their thoughts orally than when they 
do it individually. In such a situation, the teacher will be more inclined to offer necessary
assistance and guidance when required. According to Vygotsky, working in groups is
a way to increase one‘s knowledge through interactions between both novice and ad-
vanced learners (92). Hence, students through pair work or small group work learn English 
language use in a natural way, without even knowing that they are learning what should be 
learnt and used in future conversations and social communications. In other words, they are 
given more opportunities to practice the language in social contexts more than it was in the 
classical approach of teaching and learning oral skill. Cooperative and discovery learning
is a core methodology applied in constructivism, which facilitates the learning process
and gain students‘ enthusiasm and consciousness. According to Slavin, discovery learning
arouses students‘ curiosity and encourages learners to work more often until they find
the desired explanations(261). Students generally discover what they are supposed to when 
they talk and ask the others naturally and appropriately instead of the classical unnatural way
of question/answer. This makes students more critical thinkers by boosting their cogni-
tive abilities. The use of fun games, role-play, debates and discussions are very important 
aspects of a constructivist classroom. Encouraging students to use these activities in natural 
social settings significantly improves their learning of speaking. Teachers need to create a ne-
gotiating environment which promotes teamwork among learners and which in turn increases 
their self-confidence and eases their nervousness. Discussion, for instance, is the best way 
to exchange ideas and learn the target language in a relaxed and natural way. Vygotsky, in 
his turn, reveals that collaboration representing the social and cultural aspects enable learners 
to boost their language skills through interaction, arguments and discussion (94). In group
discussion, the learning atmosphere is no longer stressful or boring since students are 
working together and therefore learning together. Consequently, a limited exposure to the
target language culture creates a serious obstacle in learning social and communicative lan-
guage. The use of idioms and proverbs, for instance, can be considered as a serious problem 
when talking to a native speaker. Discussion in this case can be a better means to know more 
about the target language culture. Students, for example, can look for some cultural aspects 
through a discovery learning process and come to class to identify and discuss what they found 
with their peers. It is highly believed that culture and language are closely related, and,
hence, to understand and speak English fluently, and more importantly, confidently, a 
cultural background needs to be enhanced.

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Problem-Based Learning 
One of the approaches of constructivism is problem-based learning (PBL). In this approach, stu-
dents learn by contributing in different problem-based activities when the teacher only offers the 
necessary help. PBL may be beneficial in many ways, especially because of students‘ centeredness, 
i.e. they are the only responsible of learning and problem solving, mostly through free com-
munication. Students are given more opportunities to develop independent learning instead of 
a complete reliance on the teacher‘s instruction. They also develop critical thinking and cooperative 
learning via teamwork.In other words, students should be the speakers in the class, and not regarded 
as passive listeners, and all involved in different tasks and activities.
Use of Technologies 
In recent times, students have developed a great interest towards technology, such as the Internet,
smart phones and digital cameras. Students can use the internet‘s websites and social networks not 
only as a means of exposure but also as a means of language use and practice via web searching and
chatting with native-speakers. Videoconferencing may also be used as a means of teaching in oral 
lectures. The advantage of this form of learning appears in getting wider audience and attention
with less nervousness and greater motivation.
Advantages and Limitations of the Social Constructivism 
The constructivist theory of learning avoids direct instruction and favours, instead, active
engagement of students in the learning process under the teacher‘s supervision (Wendypp). 
One of the benefits of this method of learning is students‘ centredness, this is quite valuable 
since learners can be more eager in a classroom-learning environment where collaboration and
exchange of ideas as a team is a major feature. Social constructivism promotes communication
and negotiation, which help students enormously to increase their awareness of the real-world inter-
actions between individuals outside the classroom walls. One of the notable advantages of social 
constructivism that goes alongside with this paper aims is reducing if not diminishing students‘ 
feelings of anxiety and lack of confidence. This is clearly explained by the fact that social construc
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tivism provides a democratic learning environment which upholds knowledge sharing through 
collaboration and develops cognitive skills by student-centred practices. Social constructivism has 
been praised by many researchers and studies in the field of higher education. Nevertheless, like any 
learning theory, shortcomings are unavoidable. Thus, despite the previously stated educational ad-
vantages, there are some scholars who have voiced out their oppositions to constructivism such
as (Masrom and Syahrani 24) who claim that constructivism is not practical enough since there 
are students who can learn faster than others with lower prior knowledge. They also refer to a cate-
gory of students who are teacher dependent, i.e. those who after being overexposed to the traditional 
method of learning and cannot swap to the new one that encourages independent learning and less
reliance and dependency on teachers and on specific materials.In opposition to the constructivist 
approach, (Wendypp) argues ―the biggest disadvantage is its lack of structure. Some students
require highly structured environment in order to be able to excel‖. Another drawback of social 
constructivism is its self-evaluation and assessment, which may lead students to misevaluate 
themselves since there is no precise standards of grading like in the classical methods (Wendypp).
Conclusion
The technological swift advance and globalization have increased demand of learning English as 
a foreign language and as a means of communication more than ever before. Lecturers and syllabi
designers have had to invent new methods of teaching that respond to the learners‘ needs in such 
an environment. The speaking skill has resisted many innovations. Teaching and learning it are not 

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without many problems and require taking many challenges for both teachers and learners. Two 
major problems are anxiety and lack of confidence. They constitute a great challenge to teachers and
learners. This paper suggests the implementation of the social constructivist approach based on 
Vygotsky‘s theories in teaching the oral skill to B1 level students of English. 
All in all, learning the speaking skill should be students-centred using a social constructivist 
method, which triggers students‘ attention and encourages cooperative learning. Nonetheless, it can-
not be used as an absolute learning system since it has its own weaknesses. Therefore, associating this 
approach with some other approaches that are student-centered will result in an eclectic one from 
which the students will benefit more in their endeavor to master the oral skill.